Wrongful death lawsuit accuses carnival ride owner of negligence

Published 1:42 pm, Thursday, October 1, 2015

Family members of a woman killed last year while working on a ride at the Texas Rice Festival is suing the Colorado-based company that owns the ride for gross negligence and wrongful death.

Wright's Amusements failed to properly train its workers and neglected to replace an inside support brace that snapped, causing a wing of the Monster Trucks ride to fall on Corley, according to a petition filed by April Corley's family.

The lawsuit accuses Wright's Amusement, which owns a carnival with more than 40 rides traveling across the southern part of the country, of providing an unsafe work environment.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration cited Wright's Amusements $12,400 for violations related to the Sept. 24, 2014 incident. The company has denied any wrongdoing.Cade Bernsen, one of the attorneys representing Corley's family, said none of the employees assembling the Monster Trucks ride on the day Corley died were trained properly. Bernsen also said a support brace that had failed previously was only welded back together instead of replaced.